Aside from being talented, Providence junior Ava Misch is such a thoughtful kid. And she can take some good-natured ribbing, too.
She showed that during a recent game when she was playing defense at third base and a foul ball was hit where many foul balls are hit on the Celtics’ home diamond.
“I knew it was going over toward the baseball field,” Misch said. “So I just kind of called over, ‘Heads up.'”
Providence coach Jim Holba couldn’t resist.
“She said it so softly,” Holba said. “We were like, ‘No one’s going to hear you over there, especially the left fielder.’ She smiled. Ava has a very easy personality to get along with. She’s fun to coach.”
And to wave around third base — a lot.
Misch was all smiles Thursday with two hits and two RBIs as the host Celtics posted a 9-2 GCAC Blue victory over St. Laurence in New Lenox.
While Misch led the offense, Mia Sanfratello, Olivia Vittori and Macie Robbins added two hits apiece for Providence (23-4, 10-2). Robbins struck out nine for the pitching win.
Vanessa Kates homered for St. Laurence (17-5, 9-2). Peyton McDevitt also contributed a triple against the Celtics, who clinched at least a tie for the conference title. The Vikings still have one game left on May 9 against Loyola.
Misch, meanwhile, is having a breakout junior season for Providence. She’s hitting .438, with 19 runs, 10 doubles, two home runs and 26 RBIs.
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Against St. Laurence, she drove in a first-inning run with a single. She then duplicated the effort while also scoring during an eight-run fourth.
“I was just kind of going up there to the plate and thinking ‘yes, yes, no,'” Misch said. “We needed the runs. The last time we kind of struggled against them, but this time, we did better hitter-wise.”
Misch was also 3-for-3 on sharply hit balls to the third base side. Four-year starter Bella Olszta confirmed that’s par for the course.
“Ava always does her job,” Olszta said. “Even on the hardest hit balls, she gets them.
“She’s really good at making the ‘wow’ plays. I’m like, ‘How did she catch that?’ And she throws them to first like it’s no big deal. She’s real relaxed there.”
The start of Misch’s softball life?
“I had no choice,” she said, laughing. “My mom played softball in college and threw me in at T-ball when I was probably 4.”
Misch’s mom, Natalie, played during high school at Sandburg. She also played in college at MacMurray.
“I kind of liked that my mom did it, so I stuck with it,” Misch said. “I’m glad because it’s been a lot of fun with the people I’ve played with.”
Misch started her varsity career as a sophomore at Providence. Until then, most of her experience was at third base. Not so much, though, at first base.
That changed during tryouts.
“We knew we needed to find her a spot in the lineup,” Holba said. “As the year went on, she pretty much took over at first base.”
Western Michigan recruit Angelina Cole was impressed.
“Honestly, she looked good,” Cole said. “She was able to scoop balls and she was good at stretching. She was a good first baseman. Everyone had their full trust in Ava.”
This season, Misch mostly plays third, while Vittori has settled in at first. But Holba has options.
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“She can do everything on the field,” Holba said. “She plays third base and first base and catcher. She can probably play any infield position.
“It’s been kind of a running joke that she’s one of the few ones we haven’t thrown in the outfield. I think she said the last time she played outfield was when she was 10.”
There’s still time.
Tony Baranek is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.